How Law Firms Can Easily Create a Random Sample from a List on HubSpot

In marketing, the ability to understand your audience’s behavior and test new things is imperative. It’s great to come up with new creative, but it’s not always a good idea to blast it to your entire database without some feedback first. Is it possible to create a subset of a larger list that is actually random? 

We are going to cover a feature in HubSpot that makes pulling random samples much easier. The functionality allows you to “easily create a new static list with a select number of randomized members from an existing list.” 

Why Create a Random Sample? 

In order to have the best database and marketing outreach, you need to consistently experiment and A/B test. You should periodically change up things like email copy, CTAs, landing pages, etc. This will allow you to create more personalized experiences for your contacts. It used to be difficult to obtain random batches of contacts or companies from existing lists, but HubSpot has changed that. Now, you can use the “Random Sample” feature to select a percentage or number of randomized members that will join a new static list. 

Chances are, at some point it would benefit you to create a random sample of people or companies based on a list that you already have. This is effective if you want to create a sample size of records that meet a certain set of parameters. Marketers may use this for testing marketing tactics or experimenting. For example, you have a new email creative but only want to try it on a few accounts before sending more broadly. 

As a more specific example, let’s say you have a list of 50,000 contacts, but you only want to send your new email to 2,000 of them. You can use this feature to create a new, smaller list of only 2,000 random email addresses. Why not just use a different, smaller list? The key is that these members are actually random, and not hand-selected or part of a list that already had parameters set. This means the responses generated are more likely to be representative of your larger database as a whole. 

Using HubSpot to Create a Random Sample Based on Lists

To generate a sample, just follow these simple steps in HubSpot: 

1. Log into your HubSpot account, and then click Contacts and go to Lists. 
2. Click Actions, and then Random Sample. 
3. You can enter a number of contacts or a percentage of contacts into the form field. You can enter one or the other and the value that is not populated will automatically populate with the accurate count or percentage breakdown. 
4. Click on Create list. 
5. You’ll get a pop up with a link to the new list. Click Got it to close the pop up. 
6. You can see how many random samples have been made from a list. Navigate to the source list and click Details and you will get a breakdown.

Takeaway: 

HubSpot’s random sample feature can be really powerful for generating smaller lists used for testing and optimizing a variety of marketing communications. Give it a try the next time you need to A/B test an email or want to gauge the response to a new landing page. 

Curious about making the most of HubSpot or other marketing technology? We offer specialized marketing technology consulting so that you can be sure your needs are being met and your investments are paying off. Learn more about our MarTech Stack Strength Scorecard here.